The Tale Of A Thief
by Sami Ryou's Hikari
Summary: The life story of the Thief King. Lots of blood, especially in later chapters!
1. Default Chapter

Hi! Sami, Ryou's Hikari here! This is my sixth fic, and it is the story of the Spirit of the Ring, who is called Akefia in this story, and his life tale. Read on.

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The night before the massacre, all had seemed well. The young child was happily resting in his mother's lap, while his mother ran her fingers through his white locks of hair. He knew nothing of the terror that was to pass his way that night, for all he knew was a life of happiness in his village of thieves, Kuru Eruna.

Akefia, that was the child's name. He could be easily recognized because of his white hair, the only person in the entire village with such pale hair. He also had blue eyes, a rare thing in that village filled with brown, black, red and at the very lightest, lavender orbs.

His mother thought he was a blessing, a unique child who one day would be something great. He would have wonderful powers, as every one that lived in Kuru Eruna had one power or another.

That night, his life was about to change, and the sweet, innocent boy would fade away…

"Wife," Akefia's father shouted, bursting into the room, "The Pharaoh's soldiers are coming, quickly, we must leave!"

Akefia was pulled into his mother's arms, and they ran through the house together with his father, collecting belongings, precious necklaces, carvings and clothing. All of a sudden there was a pounding at their door, and the shouts coming from the door gave away the identity of the intruders. The Pharaoh's soldiers!

"Hurry, out the back!" Their father pushed them towards the back of the mud-bricked house, calling to them, "I'll stay and make sure you get away, now GO!"

Akefia clutched his mother's skirt while they ran through the alleyways and between other houses like theirs, evading the soldiers and trying not to drop their possessions. And then suddenly they were surrounded by the soldiers, and there was no where left to go.

"Run my child, run!" Akefia ran as fast as he could, diving between the legs of the men, and going as fast as his legs would go without collapsing on him. He never stopped until it was sunset, and he was on the outskirts of the wide-spread village. He climbed high into a nearby cliff, watching the brutal scene unfold before his eyes.

His people were being slaughtered like cattle at an abattoir, and there was nothing he could do about it. He watched as the bodies were round up, and the people that had lived were chained and led to a place just below the cliff face the boy was in. There was a cauldron of boiling hot rock under a raging fire, and the boy wondered how he hadn't noticed it.

He closed his eyes, wishing that the entire day had been a dream, and he would wake up and his mother would stroke his hair, but when he opened his eyes, all he saw were the soldiers and his people. He wondered if his mother was down there, or if the soldiers had killed her. Either way, there was no chance of him rescuing her or ever seeing her again.

He saw the villagers being lined up before the cauldron and knew what was too come, so he put his hands over his eyes. He still heard the screams of the people though, dying, burning alive in that molten pit of fire, and that stayed with him for the rest of his life.

He fell asleep listening to the screams, the laughter of the guards, as bodies both dead and alive were burnt. He opened his eyes when the screams ceased, to find his gaze locked upon several golden items, shining in the light of the moon. There had been 100 people alive in the village that morning. 99 had died to create these.

Akefia found his gaze drawn to the ring-like object, with golden shards hanging from it, and the eye of Horus in its centre. It gleamed with a white light, directed right at him, and he found himself almost blinded. In fear, Akefia ran into the night, stumbling down the other side of the cliff.

He tripped on a piece of loose rock, and the side of his face felt odd, and it was stinging.  
Akefia reached a hand to touch his cheek, just below his right eye, and came away with blood. His face had hit a sharp rock in the fall, and it was likely the scar was going to be there forever, a reminder of that night. It was there, bleeding, underneath the silver moon, that Akefia promised revenge on the Pharaoh.

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Well, how was it? Please review, and tell me if you want it continued!

Love Sami, Ryou's Hikari.


	2. Thieving

Hi, Sami, Ryou's Hikari here! Short chapter, sorry bout that! Read on!

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Akefia fled into the night, which was nearing dawn with every step he took. He ran until he couldn't run anymore, to get away from the massacre, and that golden object…he shuddered, remembering the sensation he'd had when it seemed to focus its light directly at him.

He then collapsed into the desert, weak with hunger and being so tired. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was the rising sun.

He woke up in darkness. 'Where am I?' he wondered. He heard voices. "Hey, the kids awake!" one of them said to the other. Akefia looked up at the men, and cowered back. They were both thieves, he could tell that by their garments, and they had scars all over their bodies, covering their arms and faces.

"Hey kid, you okay?" The man seemed genuinely concerned. "Yeah…I'm alright," Akefia replied, not planning on telling the men what had happened.

"You got a home? We'll take you to the edge of its borders if you want," the other man offered. Akefia shook his head. "I have no family, and no village."

"That's rough, boy..." The first man shook his head. Kids that age shouldn't be alone; at least that's what he thought.

"Hey kid, I'll tell you what, how about you join us, eh? Come thieving the tombs, and getting rich? It's a dangerous life, but it's a rewarding one! And besides, we need a new partner, and you're young, easy to train," the man said, glancing at the other man who nodded.

Akefia thought about it. He'd never thought about being a thief before, and now that he had the opportunity, under the circumstances, it wasn't a bad idea. Not bad at all…

"I'll do it!" He announced, "I'll become a thief!"

The training began right away.

At first it was small things, like thieving eggs from bird's nests, and slipping coins off passing people in the market, but then they were training him to take necklaces, and jewelry off the rich, and calves from the cattle, so the men could have a decent meal.

Then, they were to introduce him to tomb robbing. The next day they were planning to take him to the tomb of a rich merchant who had passed away not a hundred years ago. Akefia was kind of frightened by the idea, but it could be no worse down there than it had been hearing the screams of his village.

He closed his eyes tight, for he still had nightmares about that night. They kept him up, he hardly got to sleep…That night, he never got to sleep at all.

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Um…sorry about the short chapter, I'm kind of short of ideas. Review!

Thanks:

Stormrose Dewleaf

ttSerenity

Love Sami, Ryou's Hikari.


	3. Cursed Dreams

Hi everyone! Look, I am really sorry about updating so late, but I have been busy with other fics! I hope you all like this chapter! Read on!

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In the morning Akefia was shaken awake by the two men, and half dragged to the tomb which he was meant to steal from. He shivered as he gazed into the depths of the tomb, which had a rough stone entrance and a message in hieroglyphs around the side. He gazed at the markings which said _**'This tomb is cursed. Enter and take heed, for if you mean harm to the dead, you will become something worse than dead, and regret it forever**.' _Akefia shivered.

The men pushed him towards the entrance, and he began to slowly step down into the darkness, keeping as alert as he could while holding on to a flickering torch. All of a sudden a wind blew and the torch went out. 'But there is no wind in a tomb,' thought Akefia, getting scared. He was about to turn back when he came across a room littered with treasure, gold, jewels and crowns. He pulled out four sacks made of camel hide from the pouch that hung on his back, and began filling them with all the treasures they could carry. Akefia gazed into all corners of the room with eager eyes, searching for any valuables he may have missed, as he had seemingly emptied the entire room. It seems this corpse wasn't rich enough for the thieves' sacks.

He spotted a gleam in the far corner, and wandered over to investigate. It was a talisman, shining in the darkness, calling out to him. He picked it up from the ground, and gazed at it with wonder. It was solid gold with a silver lining on the edges. 'Wow, silver is really rare!' Akefia though excitedly. If he brought silver back to the men they would be very pleased, as it was rare and much valued. But he pushed the thought away as he continued to look at the talisman. It had a ruby in the centre, and was in the shape of a pyramid.

'Maybe I could keep this,' Akefia though, 'and not tell the men. All I need to do is hide it from them and they won't have a clue.' He thought about this a second longer and then crammed the talisman into his pocket, gazing one last time at its beauty and elegance. He began the walk back to the sun, where the two men were waiting for him, taking the sacks from him as he exited the tomb. They all journeyed back to their temporary home in a cave three miles east of the tomb. The rest of the night was spent dressing as kings and merchants, mocking the high life.

Akefia was now rich enough to leave the men and become a highly dignified person, but he decided to stay with the men, as he quite enjoyed the thieving life. They all fell asleep by the light of the fire, which slowly died down into embers and ashes. Akefia had a strange dream…

"_Mother, where are you? Mother!" a small boy walked the streets of Kuru Eruna with tears in his eyes. He saw a shadow in the darkness, beckoning him. He walked to the shadow, who emerged to be a man, with white hair like they boys, and a scar much like the one Akefia now had. The man held his hand out to the boy, saying, "There, there, child, it will all be okay. Take my hand and we shall look after each other for all eternity. I will protect you from harm, death and anything else that is to become an obstacle for us." The boy shivered as he took the mans hand, and the man drew his arms around the boy._

_Bringing his arms around the boys waist, the man breathed on the younger ones neck, sending shivers up the child's body. He drew a dagger from his belt, and plunged it into the boys heart, and the last thing the child saw before he faded away, were two evil eyes, blue like his own, and glinting maniacally._

Akefia awoke shaking, to discover it was still night time, and hardly any time had passed. He then fell into a dreamless sleep, and by the time morning came he had forgotten the dream completely.

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Okay, now that that is over with, I want to thank:

Stormrose Dewleaf –Ror went Alister hunting? What did he do? Oh well. Thanks for reviewing!

Tokubi –I am intelligent; have good grammar and a lot of knowledge? Well thanks! Only don't speak like that again, you reminded me of the Coo Hatch from a book called Everworld. Thanks for reviewing!

Computerfreak101 –I am really pleased that you love it; I would hate it if you didn't! Was this chapter longer, I couldn't tell? Thanks for reviewing!

Seto's Sister –I am happy you liked it! Thanks so much for reviewing!

Love Sami, Ryou's Hikari.


	4. Robbery

Hi everyone! Look, I am really sorry about not updating in a while, it is just I have other fics that I need to concentrate on, and I also have been getting less time on the computer lately. I apologize, and I will probably write the next chapter in about a day or two, I promise! Read on!

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Akefia awoke with a headache, and the feeling that he had forgotten something that was drastically important, but he couldn't recall exactly what. He rubbed his head, shaking the dust from his robes. Seeing no one else in the cave, he decided to go for a walk, and so he got dressed properly, tying a fresh robe around him, and washing his hair in the trickle of water that was pooling in an indent; far into the cave. Once he had finished, he set out on his walk.

He trekked through the desert; the sun high in the sky and the sand burning his feet. He took a swig from his water pouch, made from a thick, rough material. Growing hungry, he laid eyes upon a nearby village, licking his lips. 'It shouldn't be that hard to steal from this pitiful town,' he thought with a maniacal sparkle in his eyes. Then he made his way to the village, keeping hidden.

Upon arrival in the town, he noticed a sign that had been hurriedly engraved in a stone panel not long ago. "There was a robbery in the tomb of High Merchant Abadi Achad Ha'am (eternal one of the people) and whoever captures the thief that robbed the sacred tomb will be paid one hundred gold coins. The thief was said to be wearing a plain robe, and having unusual white hair." Akefia gulped; someone must have seen him leave the tomb. That was not going to help him get food any time soon.

Quietly, he snuck around the back of a small store room, used to stock the food for the Elders Meetings. He opened the door, looking around to make sure that no one was in the room. Finding no one there, Akefia grinned and entered silently, before going into the food storing room. Finding a bounty of food upon the shelves; he indulged himself.

Firstly, Akefia grabbed a withered apple, biting into its skin with relish. There was only a trickle of juice left, but that was a good start. Then, he uncovered the contents of a lidded basket near the door and found the basket abundant in grapes. He feasted on at least a quarter of the small, red fruits. (Not green grapes, they were not common there. Stepping back, his chin moist with the grape juice, he searched through the other baskets, finding almonds, dried meats, and fresh loaves of bread that had come out of the oven not an hour before, made from newly ploughed emmer. (Coarse wheat)

Akefia feasted happily on these foods, and left the store room with a full belly. All of a sudden, guards came around the corner, and saw him exiting the store room; with two loaves of bread in his hands and his sack full of dried meat. "After him, he is a thief!" they shouted as they ran swiftly after him. Akefia dropped the bread, and ran from the two guards. He ran as fast as he possibly could, but the guards had longer legs than him, and no heavy sack of meat to carry, so eventually they caught up with him.

Racing around the alleyways to find himself at a dead end, he stopped and turned, bumping into the guards. "Oh shit!" He exclaimed, the angst of defeat and capture lacing his words. Akefia looked very disheartened as he was dragged away by the two guards, and carted to the dungeons. He then decided that tracing patterns in the dust with his fingers was a very boring way to spend his days in the prison, so started singing.

"In the cold night when all seems lost, and your spirit seems unyielding

Remember that you own the silent wall, your heart and soul are building

Oh a light watches over you as you spin your dreams around your might.

And then all that is clear is that all, for you my dear, will be calm tonight…"

He kept on singing this until his door was thrown open, and a guard came up to him, with a smirk on his face. "This is what you get for singing that accursed song all damn night!" and the guard ran up to Akefia, kicking him in the ribs, and hitting his jaw. Akefia got hit in the lip and it split, bleeding down his face. He began to get angry at the guard, and then…

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Well, that is the chapter; I hope you all liked it! Thanks:

Stormrose Dewleaf –Okay, so Alister ran for his life…smart choice! Yep, Aurora makes an awesome girl for Yami Marik! The two of them get on so well, they are like perfect for each other. Safe and sound with the seal? I don't like the sound of that; no one is safe with the seal! Thanks for reviewing!

Computerfreak101 –Yay, you registered! I know that it's late but oh well. I am really glad you liked the chapter, your opinion matters most to me of course! I wonder what happens to Akefia next. Thanks so much for reviewing, you rock girl!

Love Sami.


	5. Chance Meeting

Hi everyone! Erm, sorry for not updating, but I had a massive case of Writer's Block! (Shudders) I hate it! And then fanfic wouldn't let me edit my fics! I was sitting there not updating and wondering if I still had any readers! Gah, life sucks. My mother is trying to force me to skip updating all together! How can she! I am so annoyed right now. Anyway, read on my little thieves!

_Disclaimer: _(To the tune of some weird female band song) I don't own YuGiOh or Bakura! But I'll wait right here till I become a star! Then I can buy YuGiOh, from the creator of this show! Oh woah-oah-oah-oah!

And then…he jumped up in a rage and flew at the guy, screaming and kicking and biting the guy! "I'll kill you, you little prick!" Akefia jumped up and kicked at the guy, and was satisfied to hear a high pitched scream emerge from the man when his foot found the guy's crotch. The man sank to the ground, clutching the aforementioned area for dear life. He had little tears in his eyes. (Ha, men are weak!)

Akefia then saw that the man was about to get up, and; making a hasty decision, grabbed the mans arm with impossible strength and threw him against the wall, hearing a crunching sound that assured him that the nose of the man was broken. The guard turned around with a blood nose, and stumbled towards Akefia, leaving spots of blood behind. Akefia grinned evilly, and advanced on the man, who had a sick look about him.

He noticed the guard had a dagger in the hilt of his belt, and darted over to get it. The guard tried clumsily to fend him off, but in no time at all the dagger was in the hands of the thief. Akefia held it before him, and made a jabbing motion, stabbing the man in the stomach. He then pushed the guard onto the ground, and used the dagger to make little patterns on the man's legs. The man whimpered in pain as Akefia brought the dagger to the guard's neck and drew a line across; not too deep, nor to shallow. He groaned, feeling warm blood pour out of the wound and onto the floor.

Finally, the thief Akefia raised the dagger a foot above the man's heart, ready to strike down. The guard pleaded with Akefia, even begged, but the boy wouldn't listen; he just had a maniacal look in his eyes before he laughed evilly, and plunged the dagger into the heart of the guard below him. An odd gurgling noise came from the man, and then all was still.

Akefia slunk into a far corner on the wall. 'I…I did that? But how…how could I have? It was almost as if…as if another presence was controlling me as I tortured that guard…" He then noticed that the dungeon door had been left open, and with hope in his heart, he ran out to freedom, and to safety. He then found himself in a maze of hallways as he ran through the fort that the dungeons were located in. Suddenly, he heard an odd noise, that seemed to call out to him.

Running to the noise, he discovered that it seemed to come from a person in the room right next to him. He pushed open the door, and before him was a terrible sight. There was a boy, around his age; with sandy blonde hair and piercing violet eyes, strapped down upon a bed, being whipped by a man dressed in black, and the boy was screaming, from both fear and pain. Akefia saw the man stop whipping the boy, and pull off the boy's garments. He blinked as he then saw the boy laid out fully exposed on the bed.

Then something seemed to click in his mind. 'Why in Ra's name am I not doing anything, I have to save that boy from losing his innocence!' with that thought in his mind, he ran at the man who was in the act of undressing himself, and punched him hard in the side of the head, before tripping the man up with his foot, and stabbing him right between the eyes. With the man then dead, he wandered over to the naked boy.

"Are you okay?" he asked, untying the boy, his eyes widening as he surveyed every inch of the boy; the scars and bruises were numerous, and obviously he had been whipped more than several times before. The boy sniffed a little bit, then threw his arms around Akefia. "Thank you so much, if it weren't for you then he would have raped me! I owe so much to you, thank you for saving me from my Father!" He wept bitterly down the front of Akefia's clothes.

"Your father tried to do this to you?" Akefia asked, shocked. "Yes," replied the teary-eyed boy. He beats and whips me often, and tonight he was going to go even further, but he didn't thanks to you! Please, let me come with you, and we can escape this place!" The boy looked at Akefia with a desperate look in his eyes. "Okay," sighed Akefia. "What is your name, anyway?" he asked. The boy looked at him shyly, before replying, "Um…my name is Marik. And I know who you are, you're that thief everyone is talking about, Akefia!" Akefia nodded, and then led the boy out of the fort.

Well, how about that for a twist in the plot? He meets Marik. I don't know why I put Marik in the story, I mean, he DOES meet him eventually but I thought he could meet him now. Marik still has a prick of a father, which sucks, but oh well. Thanks:

Stormrose Dewleaf –No, I would rather face Aurora then be sent into the Seal. I know how to handle Ror, trust me. (Dangles Yami Marik off a cliff) Hurt me and I drop him! You were right, Akefia totaled that guard! Ha, poor man, kicked in the crotch; that has gotta hurt if you're a guy! Thanks for reviewing!

Computerfreak101 –Your hopes were realized and the man is now dead along with Marik's father! Yeah! Go Akefia, not only is he my thief, but he is my little murderer too! Thanks for reviewing!

ttSerenity –I am glad you wanted the fic to be updated! I will always keep writing, do not ever doubt that! Thanks for reviewing!

Amichanfan12345 –I am so sorry for the late update, but like I said, writer's block! I really hope you liked this chapter; I know I liked it! Thanks for reviewing!

Lil-inu –Aw, your username is so cute! Well I am sorry if you hate me and I suck and you despise everything I stand for and I am a jerk, but that is my job. Thanks to Ryou for the translation! Sorry for the late update! Thanks for reviewing, even though it was half of a flame and half a compliment.

Love Sami.


	6. What now?

Hi everyone! Well, here I am with yet another chapter, and I have no idea what in Ra's name I shall write! Wait a minute, okay, I have an idea! Cool! Well, here's hoping I don't screw up the chapter! Read on, my pretty, helpless mind slaves!

_Disclaimer: _Eminem (don't own) will quit rapping before I own YuGiOh!

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Akefia was leading Marik out of the fort, when all of a sudden; shouts erupted from inside the massive building. "Guards, we have a convict and a slave escaping, seize them, seize them!" Akefia swore and grabbed Marik by the hand, running as fast as he possibly could to escape the guards. "Hurry up, do you want to go back there!" He hissed at Marik, who was already starting to get tired. "N-no…" Marik gasped, unable to speak because of the rate he was running at. The two of them ran, past the storerooms, past the mud brick huts, past the emmer fields, and finally, past the town's border.

When they finally stopped running Marik collapsed upon the ground, gasping for breath; his legs aching, his lungs empty. Akefia panted for a while as he leaned against a rock face, biding his time while he regained his energy. Noticing Marik, he walked over to the younger boy and pulled him up. "Here," offered Akefia, handing out a water sack to Marik. "Where did you get that?" asked Marik curiously, eyeing the water as though it might have been poison. "It appeared in thin air! What do you think; whenever the guards gave me water I saved it in this sack, now drink!"

Without further ado, Marik reached for the water sack and drank from it gratefully. After he had finished his share, he tossed his head back and sighed. He gazed up at the sky, getting darker as the sunset was almost upon them. He turned to Akefia and asked him a question that had been on his mind for a while. "So, why did you start thieving anyway? What could have driven a kid your age to steal things?" Akefia considered whether to tell Marik the entire truth, or just part of the truth.

He hesitated before answering, "My village, Kuru Eruna…it was attacked by the Pharaoh's soldier's. They slaughtered my people…my family…They took them to a big cauldron, and then one by one they tossed them, both alive and dead, into it, to create these horrible golden items; seven of them. I was the only one who survived…it was all the Pharaoh's doing, that stupid, terrible, idiotic, psychotic, prick of a bastard who should have never been brought into this world to cause so much destruction, so much pain and suffering in the lives of others…" he cut off, shaking with rage, and tears forming in his eyes.

Marik saw the tears forming, and sat Akefia down, before raising a finger to brush away the thief's tears. "It's okay," he soothed, pulling Akefia into a hug. "None of it was your fault, and it's over now; it's in the past…" he kept on trying to calm Akefia by making little circles on the boy's back with his hands. Akefia stopped crying, and continued. "I ran away, and I swore revenge on the Pharaoh. Soon after, two men found me; thieves, and they took me in as one of their own. They taught me how to steal like an expert, but I was caught stealing food from a store room, and brought to the dungeons."

Akefia looked sad. "Maybe we can find them again." Said Marik. "No, if I know them they will have left their cave already and moved on to a different area. Besides, my appearance is known. Were they to be seen with me, they too would be arrested." Akefia seemed withdrawn, and Marik thought about all that had been said, contemplating what they could do now.

They sat there in that awkward silence for what seemed to be hours, but it was actually only minutes until the silence was broken. Marik was the one who spoke, saying to Akefia, "Well, we should set up camp anyway; we're in the desert now and that gets deadly cold at night." Akefia nodded; Marik was right, the desert was known to get so cold at night that you could freeze to death. He stood up with Marik and they went to collect fire wood, and leaves to make a bed.

Once those were collected, Akefia used his knowledge learnt from the two thieves to create a fire from the branches they had, and Marik set up the bed. There had only been enough leaves to make one bed, so the two would have to share. Akefia draped his robe over the two of them and faced the desert, thinking about all that had happened over the last couple of weeks, and wondering what was going to happen after that. Who would they meet? What would they do? Where would they go? All these thoughts rushed around unanswered in Akefia's head until he felt like screaming.

Marik broke Akefia's chain of thoughts with a cute yawn from the other side of the bed. 'Poor kid,' thought Akefia. 'He's been through a lot today. First his father nearly rapes him then he has to run away from guards and then he had to deal with me being hysterical. Hopefully we'll wake up and things will be better…for both of us!'

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Well, that was the chapter; not much angst, but I have been in the mood for slightly peaceful chapters anyway. Maybe there will be angst next time, maybe not. Whatever the case, I hope you liked it. And no, this will not turn into a yaoi fic, Marik and Akefia are friends that had to make do with what they could find, nothing more. Thanks:

Computerfreak101 –Yes, finally someone who shares my views! I was so happy when Marik's dad was murdered on the show. Go Yami Marik! I hope I updated soon enough. Thanks for reviewing!

Merissala –Ooh, I am so glad! Yes, Akefia is Bakura; it has been speculated that Akefia was his name back in ancient Egypt. Either Akefia or Tozokuoh, and I prefer Akefia. Thanks for reviewing!

lil-inu –I know you were joking, don't worry, I didn't take offense! So, you have depressing days? Cool, you're like me then! I am glad you love this story, and I will keep at it! Thanks for reviewing!

Seto's Sister –Yeah, they met! Thank god for that! You felt sorry for the guard? Screw the guard, he was trying to hurt Akefia! The guys at my primary school were real jerks… Thanks for reviewing!

ttSerenity –You will never doubt my writing skills…cool! Now I will write a really bad fic and you still shall not doubt me! MWAHA! Kidding! I will keep dreaming forever…Thanks for reviewing!

Stormrose Dewleaf –I wouldn't hurt Marik or his Yami, don't worry! I won't pay, I am the authoress and I rule all! Ror, you rock, because vampires are the best creatures ever…Thanks for reviewing!

Adele –I suppose that I like it better than Exorcism too, but I get fewer ideas for this one. Poor Akefia, indeed! Seeing your family and friends getting murdered can't be good. Thanks for reviewing!

Love Sami.


	7. Some days

Hi! Once again I am back to wreak havoc in my realm of utter chaos and total despair! Mwahaha! Okay, that was odd, but who gives a Ra? Anyway, this chapter will be really stressful. Oh, and whatever is mentioned, there is no yaoi at all in this fic, and no shonen-ai. Read on, my pretties!

_Disclaimer: _If I owned YuGiOh, Bakura would be with Ryou and Marik would murder more people.

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The sun rose high in the sky that morning, and when Marik awoke, there was no one else with him. "Akefia!" he yelled, scared that his new friend had left him in the middle of the night because he was too much of a distraction. "Akefia, where are you?" Marik was now sounding desperate. How would he be able to find his way through the deserts without Akefia there to help him? He would have to go back to the fort as a slave; he couldn't allow that, not now that he was free at last! He ran around looking for the young thief, but finding nothing to tell him which direction Akefia had gone in. He was on the verge of tears before he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Get away from me!" Marik yelled in fear; struggling and trying to get away. "Marik, don't be stupid; it's me!" Marik turned around and saw that the person behind him was Akefia. "Ra damn it, Akefia, don't do that to me!" he said in relief. Akefia laughed at the look on Marik's face. "Where were you anyway?" asked Marik, embarrassed by his earlier panic attack. "Getting us some food, we need to eat!" Akefia answered. And after saying that he pulled out a dead bird which had a suspicious looking mark on its neck. "What's with the red mark on its neck?" asked Marik.

Akefia grinned and answered, "Teeth marks. I had to bite it to kill it, how else would I have caught it without any daggers or weapons?" Marik looked weirdly at Akefia's teeth, which were stained with the blood of the bird, and decided to comment no further on his friend's strange hunting habits. He winced as Akefia re-lit the fire and speared the bird through the stomach with a sharpened stick and set it over the fire, and tried not to barf as he heard the skin crackling and roasting. When the bird was removed from the fire, he looked away from its burnt eyes and featherless body.

The other boy noticed Marik's uneasiness, and turned to him. "Want some?" he asked, pointing to the bird. "Um…no thanks…I'm a vegetarian…" the last part was said in a whisper. "Sorry, you're a what?" Akefia asked, looking unconcerned at his friend. "I'm a vegetarian; I don't eat meat." Marik stated. Akefia stared at his friend in shock, and then calmed down. "Well, why didn't you say so? Here, I took some bread from a nearby hut." Akefia passed Marik a fresh loaf of bread. "Thanks," Marik said gratefully, taking the loaf and almost tearing it apart as he ripped into its crusts.

Akefia watched his friend eat with an amused expression on his face. After they had both finished eating, he took Marik back to the village, to see if they could steal anything else. He decided to send Marik into a hut to steal some more bread and fruit. Marik looked at Akefia in disbelief. "You expect ME to steal?" asked Marik. Akefia nodded, and gave Marik a little push to get him going. He was quite pleased when five minutes later, Marik emerged with six loaves of bread and a whole sack full of grapes and dates. The younger boy, however, thought that he was going to be sent to the seven Realms of Anubis for committing such a crime.

They both snuck around the village, keeping to the alleyways and shadows. Akefia smirked in glee as he spotted two horses tethered around the side of someone's hut. One was pure white with a grey mane, and the other was a sandy brown with a long golden mane. He jumped on the white one, and beckoned for Marik to hop on the other one. Marik looked uncertain at first, but then sat upon the horse, holding on for dear life. "Do you know how to ride?" asked Akefia. Marik shook his head, and Akefia explained how to ride a horse to him. Marik kicked the horse's sides with his legs and the horse took off; with Akefia following quickly after. At first Marik had feared for his life, but soon he was enjoying the new found activity, and screaming in excitement as the Egyptian winds blew through his hair.

They rode until Akefia pointed out a little oasis sitting in the middle of no where. Marik glanced at it, and followed Akefia into the little coven of palm trees. The two dismounted their horses, and walked to the water in the oasis. Marik bent down to drink, and Akefia did the same. All of a sudden, they spotted guards coming towards their little paradise, and they leapt into the water. The guards passed by the oasis without so much as a passing glance; obviously they carried their water with them. Marik surfaced, and looked around for Akefia. But the young thief was no where to be found. Marik looked all over for Akefia, and suddenly he saw some bubbles rising to the surface, and dived down to the bottom of the water.

He rose up out of the water carrying a drenched, bleeding and unconscious Akefia. "Akefia, oh no…what do I do!" Marik cried out. He sat Akefia up and hit the boy on the back, hoping to force the water from Akefia's lungs. When that didn't work, he laid Akefia on the ground, and tried mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. (No shonen-ai, don't worry; you would do the same were your best and only friend like that!) He clamped his fingers down on Akefia's nose and breathed into his friend's lungs, and Akefia's body, sensing air flowing into the lungs, pushed it back out, bringing the water back up with it. Akefia sat up, coughing and throwing up water. Marik looked at him in relief. "I guess I must have hit my head when I dived, huh?" asked Akefia sheepishly. Marik nodded, and sighed.

For the rest of the day, they rode even further out into Egypt, and when they got tired, they stopped in front of the Pyramids. "Did you know it took them twenty years to make this big pyramid here?" asked Marik. Akefia shook his head, and looked up at the great Pyramid of Khufu with awe, at it's size, it's beauty and the amount of work it must have taken to build it. It stood at over four hundred metres tall, which was so impressive to him. "Twenty years…" he whispered. To a child like him, that seemed an eternity. But twenty years would eventually lose its amazement to him. But just then, as the sun set, the scene found the two boys stretched out atop the highest limestone in the pyramid, watching the golden and red sky, which became purple and slowly, black.

* * *

Aw, that was a sweet ending. A lot happened today; Marik learned how to steal and ride a horse, and Akefia nearly drowned, they were nearly caught, and it ended with a sunset…I really want to skip ahead to later years, but not yet. I need to include the Valley of Kings first…thanks:

Seto's Sister –Yep, and what I have to call one particular girl at my school is far to rude for your ears! Or eyes, whatever…Cutekitty is reading this with you? OMG, that is so awesome! I liked his explanation of the Pharaoh too! Thanks for reviewing!

Merissala –Yep, that is his name! Which name is better; Akefia or Bakura? I like Akefia cause it sounds more exotic, but Bakura is really cool; all Japanese and that…Thanks for reviewing!

Computerfreak101 –Ooh, Get right is playing on the radio! Sorry, that is what happens when I listen to the radio while writing. You don't like yaoi. (pouts) Yaoi is the best thing since YuGiOh was created! I have no idea what will happen to Marik and Akefia, but I can't finish the series until I see the very end of YuGiOh, and that will take until next year or more…Yes, kill Mr Ishtar! I was looking for pics of YGO today, and HE was there, holding his knife…thanks for reviewing!

Stormrose Dewleaf –Ror isn't an Egyptian Goddess at all! Blood-thirsty maniacs rock; they are so awesome! Thanks for reviewing!

Lil-inu –Do you like yaoi or not? Just wondering. Hey, what are you doing with Bakura anyway; give him here, he's the main character! (Grabs Bakura) Aha, now I have him! Here, have Yugi, Yami, Joey, and Yami Marik! Mmm, choc chip cookies! Thanks for reviewing!

The Sabbit –I am so glad you like it so much! Well, we have been studying Ancient Egypt in Society and Environment class, so I knew a bit already. I am glad you are learning. I hope Eminem doesn't stop rapping…wait, then I can own YuGiOh…Gah, it's such a hard choice! Thanks for reviewing!

ttSerenity –You would still give me a good review. Even if I purposely wrote a bad one it would be good? What if I just wrote: 'One day there was a boy called Noah. He died. He came back. He left the series. The end.' That would be bad, not to mention it would get deleted. Thanks for reviewing!

OMG, STOP THE MUSIC IS ON THE RADIO!

Love Sami.


	8. Massacre

Hi! Well, I am back for whatever reason possessed me to write this story. Does anyone here think I should get the Exorcist trilogy and The Exorcist: The Beginning? It would cost eighty bucks, and I haven't seen any of the movies yet, but whatever. I am so psyched because on YuGiOh dot com there's this radio with all anime songs! Yesterday I was listening to the YuGiOh season two theme, and the song from the credits of the second Pokemon movie, plus songs from YGO the Movie, and Music to duel by, as well as the TMNT theme and the One Piece theme. Cool! And they had the earlier Pokemon theme! I wanna be the very best! Like no one ever was. To catch them is my real test; to train them is my cause! I will travel across the land, searching far and wide! Each Pokemon to understand, the power that's inside! And so on and so on… AWESOME! Anyway, read on!

_Disclaimer: _I own none of the songs mentioned above, or YuGiOh.

* * *

Akefia woke up early that morning, and stretched his muscles; rolling over to un-cramp them. He soon realized what a mistake that was, as he fell off the top limestone block on the pyramid he and Marik had fallen asleep on, landing on the hard stone on the block below. "OW! Ra…my head!" Marik looked at Akefia with a smile on his face, listening to the young thief swear. "Ra damn it, who put the F'ing stone there in the first place? Stupid Egyptian slaves…" Akefia groaned and finally got up. "Nice to see you're up at last!" Marik said, smirking. "You, shut up! Wait, on second thought, make breakfast!" Akefia sat back down on the block he'd fallen off of, and drew his knees to his chest with his arms, pouting in the cutest way.

Sighing, Marik began to make his way down the pyramid. "Akefia, are you coming or are you planning on sitting there forever!" Muttering about something, Akefia stood up and climbed down the pyramid with Marik. They trekked through the desert once more, searching for something edible for breakfast. All of a sudden, Akefia shouted, "Look, there's something over there in the distance!" Marik stared at the place Akefia was pointing at, and shook his head. "I think either the sun is getting to you, or that bump on your head rattled you ever more than I thought!" Akefia scowled. "No, trust me; there is something there!" He kept on insisting it so at last Marik gave in, running across the desert with Akefia to see what exactly was there.

They reached the horizon and still there was nothing there, and Marik turned to face Akefia. "Happy now! There's nothing there! You led us on a wild goose chase!" (BTW, I'm listening to the YuGiOh season two theme on the YuGiOh dot com radio! ) Akefia raised a finger to his lips and motioned for Marik to be quiet. He pressed his ear to the ground, trying to sense vibrations. There was a faint thudding sound in the distance, which all too quickly became a roar of hooves and shouts as soldiers on horseback came riding towards them. "RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" Akefia shouted, pushing Marik ahead while he ran behind him, as the soldiers filled the horizon from left to right. Marik looked behind them, and saw the soldiers. His eyes widened, and he shouted in fear, "LOOK OUT! IT'S THE APOCALYPSE!" (LOL, I had to add that!)

Running for their lives, they yelped as the soldiers got ever closer. A village was coming up, and they both ran towards it. (OMG, The Pokemon theme song is on again! You teach me and I'll teach you! POKEMON!) Marik ran further ahead of Akefia, and Akefia yelled out to him, "Slow down Marik, otherwise we'll get lost!" Marik waited for Akefia and together they both ran into a random house. The house seemed to be empty, so they rushed to get to the cellars, and the boys hid in the wine barrels as the soldiers rode through the village, massacring everything in sight. Akefia could hear the screams as the soldiers rode through the town and murdered many innocent people, and a fire burned within him as he recalled his own village. He closed his eyes as if doing that could erase the noises.

All of a sudden, a raging white fire that had always been burning in Akefia's soul was unleashed. With his eyes closed, Akefia couldn't see his talisman (yep, he still has it!) glow white and the light that poured out of it. He blocked his ears as he heard more screams, but this time it was the soldiers that were screaming, as they were attacked by a raging ivory beast that swallowed them and consumed their souls. Once all of the soldiers had been disposed of, the beast roared to the sky and disappeared in a blinding flash of red light, joining Akefia's soul once more. The screaming stopped, and Akefia opened his eyes, getting out of the wine barrels with Marik.

"What happened?" he asked, confused. "I don't know…" Marik whispered, scared by the eerie silence. They walked out of the cellar, and gasped as they saw that there was no longer a house to which that cellar belonged. It was just a few broken walls made of mud bricks. It was the same with all the other houses. The entire village was flattened, and the corpses lined the street, bleeding, and missing limbs. "What…what did this? It can't have been the soldiers…they're gone, and I can see their bodies here to!" Marik shook his head. "It doesn't make sense!"

Akefia was shaking, looking around at the scene. Those bodies…it was almost as devastating as the massacre of his village. Marik noticed Akefia shaking, and pulled him into a hug. "It's okay…it's over now…" Akefia calmed down after a while, but when they both left the village, he still carried a heavy heart. To know the unknown was deadly, so it was best that neither boy knew that Akefia was the one who was responsible for that massacre they'd just faced. (That first part of the line was inspired by 'To Know The Unknown' which is just playing on YuGiOh radio!) Akefia sighed, and walked slowly, trying to contemplate what had just happened. Meanwhile, news of the attack had just reached the ears of the Pharaoh.

* * *

To know the unknown…to know the unknown! Don't want all the answers, but one thing is true! As long as my heart beats, I'll always love you! To know the unknown…so sue me; I remember that from the Pokemon movie credits! I miss Pokemon, I don't watch it anymore cause the Advanced series is screwed up. Sorry about the slightly shorter chapter. Another Pokemon song! And now they're playing Time To Duel! This rocks! I'm in heaven listening to this! Anyway, thanks:

Computerfreak101 –Okay…well, this isn't going to be yaoi. So no romance then, not between anyone. If the readers want Set and Kisara, too bad! Mwahaha! This will go on for a while, not a year, but close. Die Mr. Ishtar! Well, Akefia didn't drown, and as if you thought he would! For one, he is still alive when the Pharaoh gets trapped in the puzzle, and two, he is my fave guy so I would never dare kill him off! Thanks for reviewing!

ttSerenity –I read the story of your pen name. It was very interesting! Wish I had a story behind my name…darn it. And you would hate that story! Noah is already dead, so you can celebrate his death while I mourn it with all my heart…I miss Noah! (cries) My little angel is gone! Thanks for reviewing!

Stormrose Dewleaf –Yes, Marik needs to learn to steal to survive. Aurora, you aren't a Goddess, you are a maniac, but I say that in a good way. See ya! Thanks so much for reviewing!

Seto's Sister –I don't think I've read it… Your friend rollerblades? I don't know how to do that…never tried. I'm glad she found the Pharaoh's description amusing! I'll have to re-read that to see what was so funny. How is she making herself bleed? I would only do that so I could wear my YuGiOh band aids, and even then I wouldn't want to do it. Thanks for reviewing!

Mean girls is a weird song…I don't know why it's playing on the YuGiOh radio. Wierdness to the max.

Love Sami.


	9. Pharaonic Request

Hi! Look, I am so sorry for not updating, but two of my fics got deleted, so I had to wait until I was allowed to update again to write these. Ever since my fics got deleted, I lost inspiration and passion for writing, and I couldn't do anything but wait for a time when I _had _to write, because writing was more of a duty than a pleasure, really, but now I know I can write again! I really needed the break I got from my fics being deleted, and even though I mourn their loss, I am better for it! So yeah. Well, here is the next chapter. Read on, my pretties…

_Disclaimer: _I don't own YuGiOh. But if I did, do you honestly think I would ever tell you? You'd want to star in it, and I can't have everyone under the sun appearing on my wonderful show!

* * *

The Pharaoh, Akunumkanon, was surveying the building of the latest shrine, when all of a sudden a messenger ran up to him, breathing heavily; having run a great many miles. "Your…your majesty, Ra-Akunumkanon…our soldiers who were sent to attack the village of the slaves…they were attacked!" The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes. "How many survivors?" he asked, sharply. The messenger bowed his head, and solemnly replied with, "None, my Pharaoh, none." The Pharaoh exhaled deeply. "So the village still stands?" the messenger raised his head up, daring to meet the mighty Pharaoh's eyes. "No, Pharaoh. The village is lined with corpses, both of its inhabitants and of the soldiers. It appeared that there was a massacre there." Once again, the Pharaoh narrowed his eyes. "What caused it! Who caused it! I must know!" the messenger had, on impulse, jumped back an inch or two, stammering out, "Well, my Pharaoh, this is what happened…"

It was then that the messenger began to tell the story to the Pharaoh. "Well, a servant of one of the nearby villages was delivering goods across the desert, when he noticed a cloud of dust on the horizon. He rushed to see what the disturbance was, and he saw soldiers charging the village, attacking all in sight. Then, all of a sudden, an enormous white beast emerged from one of the houses and began attacking all people and huts. It delivered crushing blows to your soldiers, and flattened the houses in one swipe of it's massive hand. It picked up villagers and squeezed them so hard that their very hearts burst out of their chests. Nobody was to escape from the tyranny of this monster at all. Not one soul survived. I know what a loss this is to your army; most of those men have been under your reign for decades, I understand…"

The Pharaoh held his hand up, signalling silence. "This creature shall dearly pay. Now, what did this servant see afterwards?" The messenger thought hard, trying to remember. "This servant, Ptolemy, watched for a little while, perhaps to catch any glimpses of survivors, and as he was about to leave, he saw two boys leaving the village. One had ghost white hair, like a demon! And the other had sandy blonde hair. He didn't get a good look at their faces, but this boy with the demonic white hair should be easy to spot. We could question him and ask him what he knows!" The Pharaoh considered this, and then nodded. "Indeed. Shadah, come here at once!" Shadah, one of the high priests, who held the Millennium Key, came rushing up to the Pharaoh, and asked what he could do. "Priest Shadah, I want you to send out an alert to the villages! Be on the lookout for a young boy with white hair, and with him is a blonde boy of the same age. They must be brought before me, alive." The Pharaoh put pressure on the word 'alive'.

At once, Shadah nodded, and without saying a word he took off to give the word. A child, around the age of ten, came up to the Pharaoh. "Father, what's going on?" Akunumkanon stared into the amethyst eyes of his child, his gaze softening. "It's merely a disturbance, Atemu. Nothing for you to be worried about, now go and play with Set or Sphinx." Atemu nodded, and went to search for his beloved cat, Sphinx, so he could go and play with his High-Priest-in-training friend, Set. The Pharaoh raised his callused hand to stroke his beard thoughtfully. 'What shall I do about all of this? I've never seen nor heard of anything like this before…a strange white beast. This isn't good.' He continued to mull over the information he'd been given, but nothing made sense to him at all.

Meanwhile, Akefia and Marik were trudging through the sands of Egypt, wondering what they could do next. They had long ago given up trying to work out what had caused the devastation at the village, saying it was probably one of those strange quakes that were happening in foreign lands far away. But they'd never had one before, so why should quakes start happening now? "Akefia, I'm thirsty!" whined Marik. Akefia groaned. "Well, I don't see any water here, do you?" Marik shook his head, wondering what he could do to quench his thirst. He spied another village in the distance, and elbowed Akefia in the ribs, pointing, and asking if they could go there. "Oh, alright," Akefia sighed, giving up. They began to walk towards the village, wiping the sweat from their brows and dusting off their robes. Eventually they reached the village, looking for a place to find water.

Soon afterwards, they came across a water pit, filled with sweet, cold water, that had obviously just been carted there from the Nile. Akefia drank slowly, but Marik was so thirsty that he swallowed down the water as fast as he could, nearly choking in the process. They looked at each other, drinking up the last drops, and laughing, but they heard hooves in the next alley, and silence fell upon them. Voices were emitting from the stall outside the alleyway they had found the water pit in. "Excuse me," said the voice, to the owner of the stall, "Have you seen two young boys, one with white hair and the other one with blonde hair?" the stall owner shook his head. He hadn't noticed the boys. Marik and Akefia snuck out of the alleyway, but were spotted by the guards. "You there, boys!" They turned around, and winced. It was the Pharaoh's soldiers. "Um, yes…" answered Akefia. "The Pharaoh requests you to be in his presence." Akefia gulped, and turned to Marik.

There was no possible way out of going with the soldiers, so of course the boys had to oblige the men, and sat together on a horse, to be taken to the Pharaoh's palace. It took three hours to get to the palace, and they were both starving. "You boys hungry?" asked the soldier on the next horse. Akefia and Marik nodded heartily, and the man tossed them a bag full of bread. "Eat up," he said. Finally, they were entering the palace through the huge entrance that was crowded with servants and people bearing gifts to the Pharaoh. They were led through a winding maze of passageways, until at last, they were thrown before the Pharaoh, and made to bow down. "Rise, you two." The Pharaoh commanded. "Now, it is my understanding that you were both there at the time of the massacre of the slave village. Am I to be correct in saying this?" His tone was so sharp and alarming, so all the boys could do was nod. "Okay, now, what did you see while you were there? What exactly happened?"

* * *

Well, I wonder what they are going to say? Tune in for the next chapter to find out! Thanks:

Stormrose Dewleaf –I am pleased that you liked the chapter! Yes, it was online music. I am so happy you got your MP3! I need one now…Thanks for reviewing!

ttSerenity –Yeah, it is a little bit odd, but I thought it rocked. Wait, Ryou is gone? Where, when and how! He dies! NO! When the heck is this! WAAA! I am so sad now… I will be inspired, hopefully. Thanks for reviewing!

PsychoKitty13 –Yeah, Time 2 Duel DOES rock! I love it! I am still waiting for Music 2 Duel by, which I ordered in, oh, I don't know, JANUARY! Oh well, thanks so much for reviewing!

Computerfreak101 –Yep, and I told Aurora about Sess and Maiana, so you can't take it back now! Wait, Maiana was mad at ME! What did I do, I ask you? I am glad you liked the chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

Dark Sorceress of Egypt –I wrote that song! If you want, go to my bio and email me and I will send it too you! It's pretty much based on the fic, so yeah, I think it's pretty good! Wait, I said Joey? Damn… Oh well. No, you are not having Bakura and Ryou, they are mine and I need them otherwise this fic will never get finished! Well, Ryou is obviously a popular character to kill off! I've killed him of twice so far, and once in an un-posted fic. I knew it said reposted. Thanks for reviewing!

Adele –Yeah, it is a cool song. Yeah, I wanted to mood to be lightened a bit. Next chapter should be good, hopefully. Thanks a million for reviewing!

Love Sami.


	10. An Excuse

Hi! Sorry for the late update; but my computer was taken away for a while to have all it's info downloaded for something…but I've been back for a week or two, and here is my next chapter! I wonder what Akefia is gonna say? Who knows? I do, I do! I feel like including lemurs in the story because I just saw Madagascar, but lemurs are not native to Egypt, so yeah…Well, here is the chapter!

Disclaimer: Own YuGiOh, I do not. Be crazy to think that, you must. (Yoda is the almighty munchkin King!)

* * *

"What exactly happened?" The pharaoh narrowed his eyes, waiting for the answer. Akefia was secretly panicking. 'What do I say?' he thought 'I don't know what happened!' So, being the intelligent person that he was, he thought of what to say. "My Pharaoh, it was terrible!" He cried, sinking to his knees, "There were soldiers everywhere and they were invading my village where me and my cousin here (he indicated Marik) were visiting our enslaved uncle, and our uncle told us to run and hide, and so we ran as fast as we could and hid in the cellar of one of the houses and I could hear screaming, and people were crying outside and all of a sudden there was this great roaring noise and when we came out all the houses were flattened and everyone was dead…they were all just lying there, dead!"

By this time, Akefia had managed to make tears fall from his eyes by remembering the massacre that had occurred at his own village. "Everyone was gone, and it was so silent…I'm sorry, but I don't know what happened to that village…to those people…to my uncle…" The Pharaoh's heart had begun to melt. He genuinely felt the boys (fake) sadness and grief. "I'm sorry for your loss. I shall have one of my slaves prepare a room for you both so you can stay the night. I bid you goodnight. Mana, get these boys a room!" And with that the Pharaoh exited the room. Mana approached the boys, and without saying a word, took them to a room which was lavishly decorated with gold and was painted the most marvelous red, and closed the door.

Marik breathed. "That was good; how the heck you came up with that I'll never know!" Akefia grinned deviously. "Oh well; it was nothing! Now what do you say we go and explore the palace?" Marik looked unsure, but he supposed he owed Akefia for saving their lives back there, so he nodded enthusiastically. Akefia took his hand and led him through the door and around the many hallways in the palace. Eventually they came to a weird sort of maze, and stopped in their tracks. "What's this?" asked Marik, pointing to the maze. "I guess we have to get to the end, but I know a much easier way!" Akefia climbed up a statue that was next to one of the labyrinth walls, and climbed on top of the wall. Marik gulped, looking nervously up at him. "Well" Akefia said, "What are you waiting for?"

"Um, nothing!" Marik said worriedly, and proceeded to climb the statue to the top of the wall where Akefia was waiting for him. Marik balanced his feet, looking at the precarious edge of the wall where at any moment he could fall to his untimely death. Or at least break a few bones; either way he figured it would hurt. Akefia began walking along the edges of the wall, towards the exit. Marik followed him, terrified, but he decided that if he looked straight ahead and not down he would be okay. Until they both came to the end of the maze and had to jump to the floor below. "Um, isn't that kind of a long fall?" asked Marik. Akefia shrugged and replied with "I've jumped from a higher distance; now are you going to jump because if you aren't you'll have to stay up there forever."

This convinced Marik, so he jumped down from where he was perched and landed with an "Ow" on the hard ground, with Akefia coming right after. "Not really experienced at jumping, are you?" asked Akefia, who, unlike Marik, had landed neatly on his feet. Marik growled and stood up from where he'd fallen on his face. They began to walk out of the maze chamber and outside into what appeared to be a wondrous garden filled with tropical plants. (Yay, Exodia music from music 2 Duel by is so uplifting) They could hear laughter in the distance, and as they explored the garden, they found it came from two boys around their age who were playing with a cat the color of sand. The boys noticed them, and called out to them "Hey, who are you two?" Akefia and Marik walked over to the boys and told the boys their names. "Oh, okay; my name is Atemu and this is my best friend Set!" (Remember, Atemu doesn't actually know that Set is his cousin. Don't ask me why, but he actually didn't know.)

* * *

Well, they've met the Prince and the High Priest-in-training. I wonder what's gonna happen next. I'm sorry if it's a bit short but I set myself a deadline and I've crossed the deadline already. Thanks to:

Computerfreak101 –Yes, CF101, they lied. Good thing too. Aurora is going very well with Yami Marik, or 'Rik' as we all call him. Well, she did have him first! She liked him first and they are soul mates in my opinion. (ASD) They keep disappearing to rooms at odd intervals; it's getting annoying whenever Storm messages me and they do that. Computers are so unreliable. (dies) Well, see ya! Thanks for reviewing!

Stormrose Dewleaf –Stormy! I'm just in the middle of messaging you! YAY! Hi Rik! (waves frantically) Yeah, Atem was cute as a little kid; about the only time he was EVER cute. Thanks so much for reviewing!

T.Lei –Don't be worried; Akefia is going alright! I am really happy that you like this story! Oh well, sorry for the late update, Thanks so much for reviewing!

Nameless One –Akefia should eventually realize that he has a great white beat inside of his soul, but not for a while, unfortunately. I will always keep working on it until it is done! Thanks for reviewing!

Adele –Yes, they were deleted, unfortunately. Yami is so cute when he's playing with kittens! The idea of him having a cat came from this adorable pic that I found that had a picture of him as a child looking at a sandy colored cat and written above was 'Do You Want To Play With Me' and it was so cute! The Pharaoh will die sometime, don't worry. Thanks for reviewing!

Dragonwing725 –Aw, that was so sweet of you to write that! You are a completely awesome friend and you rock! Thanks for putting the lyrics there too! That was awesome! Thanks for doing that!

ttSerenity –Aw, I'm very happy that you thought it was a brilliant chapter! I will always be inspired so long as I have YuGiOh, music and the internet! Thanks for reviewing, Fate!

Guardian Aeotos –Yeah, Marik had a terrible father to inflict that kind of pain on his own kid. At times I actually felt sorry for the heartless bastard, but then I got over them instantly; he's not worth bothering over. Yep, it's Diabound! It was REALLY sad when my fics got deleted, but oh well, thanks for reviewing!

Love Sami.


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